


Our Bitty Families

by Delusions-Of-Granduer (Only_one_name), Only_one_name



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones, Family Shenanigans, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 14:21:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7108789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Only_one_name/pseuds/Delusions-Of-Granduer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Only_one_name/pseuds/Only_one_name
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short (or long) drabbles on different bitties and their family shenanigans.</p>
<p>I really like this universe and have been just writing, in my spare time, little tidbits of them, so I'd thought I'd share.</p>
<p>Most of these are family- and kid/children related. I love all the stories with adults... but like what about children? Wouldn't they adopt some as well? I'm sure some guardians would let their children adopt some, if not more :D Some drabbles will feature adults too though! No worries!</p>
<p>Feel free to stop by and read some of the domestic fluff of Bitties!</p>
<p>Bittybones AU is by fucken-crybaby on tumblr (among others who have made other bitties)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trouble in Twos [Edgy + Young Boy]

"Momma momma! I want a bitty! For my birthday!”

  
“I thought you said you wanted a puppy for your birthday?” You juggling the groceries around in your arms, trailing over to stand next to your son; who was prancing excitedly in front of a large billboard.

  
Your young son was desperately pointing at the little bitty advertisement on the billboard, “I changed my mind!" He retorts with a huff, fingers tapping on the glossy surface of the poster, framing the few characterized bitties on it, "A bitty! A bitty! Please please pleasepleasepleaseplease mooommmmmyyy?”

  
You rub your eyes tiredly and sigh. As much as you loved him, your son was quite… a handful at times. Especially when he wanted something. **Badly**.

  
“Can you take care of it sweetie? A bitty is a lot more responsibility than a puppy. They aren’t like dogs or cats, they’re like little people.” A small hand eagerly finds yours, before squeezing you with conviction. His large, brown eyes look up at you with tears, his mouth wavering with silent pleads. You know this ploy immediately.

  
“I can momma, I promise!” He’s looking so desperately up at you. And like every time previously, you cave.

  
“Well, if you can behave until your birthday in a week, we’ll see about adopting _**one**_  bitty.”

  
“Thank you momma thank you!” He all but screeches, eagerly grasping at the grocery bags in your hands to help. He puffs out his cheeks, gripping the heavy bag, “I’ll be super duper good! I triple promise!”

  
“You do know that you’ll also have to look after the little bitty by yourself, right dear?”

  
“Of course of course! Can we go check out bitties now?? I wanna see them all before I pick one on my birthday!”

  
You’re already sighing, reluctant but agreeing. He’s so so happy right now, carrying the groceries proudly to your car, before you look up on the GPS the adoption center for the little bitty companions.

What are you getting yourself into, you wonder as you make your way out of the mall parking lot. You had had reservations about getting him a DOG for petes sake! Now its a bitty??

  
~!~!~!~!~!~

  
_Ding Dong!_

  
You open the door to a rather small front area, it filled with  different types of tiny clothes, carriers and other bitty-styled materials. There are large posters on the walls, each with different types of bitties and their personalities labelled on them as well as basic care information. There is a counter at the far end, as well as a large door adjacent to it, a large sign labelled “Bitties” above it.

“Hello, and welcome to the Bitty Adoption Center! I’m Momma Cry!”

  
“Hello!” Your sons demur voice, obviously starting the attempt to impress you with his behaviour (it actually does impress you a little bit) greets the kind and gentle monster greeting you across from the counter. Her eyes flicker from your son to you, and it seems the smile on her face freezes a tad bit. You stiffen in response. Her ears twitch.

  
“How can I help you two?” She asks, her chipper tone down a notch.

  
“Mom said I can adopt a bitty for my birthday in a week! I wanted to look and see and pick one for then!”

  
Her smile widens just a fraction, “Well, you’d certainly be getting a very special birthday present.” Her eyes, however, flicker back up to you, “But bitties are not _**pets**_ to be given as **_presents_**.”

  
“Mom called them companions! She said they were little people!”

  
“Well, that is certainly true.” Her eyes flicker between the two of you again, “But they are more than that. They are friends, sentient beings who need caretakers that can understand them, trust them and love them.”

  
“We understand that completely.” You give a nod, but her implications were making you defensive.

  
“Can a young child truly understand that?”

  
“Of course my son understands that!”

  
“I’d take very good care of my bitty! I promise I promise! I’ll love him lots!” You can see the face your son always gives to you when he tries to wiggle his way out of trouble, and feel slightly guilty to the monster lady when you see her face falter.

  
“Well… as long as you understand. Please follow me to the bitty room.” Your son lets out a happy sound, before scrambling after Miss Cry. You follow behind, looking at some of the pictures and descriptions of the small companions. As you pass the counter, you deftly take some free pamphlets, going to look through them later on.

  
You enter a large room, it filled with chattering and other noises. Pens upon pens are littered about the area, the largest pen with a mish-mash of pillows, mats and other things. The big middle pen has a gate facing you, obviously the sort of “meeting area” for potential adopters and bitties.

  
“If it is okay, you and your mother can enter the big pen and meet some of the bitties.”

  
“Mom, can I go in?” Your son is kneeling down at the pen, peering into the clear glass to smile and wave at the bitties that were pooling there, curious of you both. Some greet Miss Cry, with shouts of “Ma!” “Momma!” or “Mom!”

  
You glance at Miss Cry, whose initial trediption is gone from her face, “Well, as long as you are careful sweetie. We don’t want to hurt any of them.”

  
He is wearing such a serious expression, “Of course Mommy.” Miss Cry lets him in, and motions to you. You shake your head in response. You aren’t getting a bitty for yourself, it’s for your son. Miss Cry stands beside you, her eyes watchful.

  
You clear your throat, “So, which bitty companion would be best for a young child?”

  
Miss Cry's expression turns thoughtful, “A lot of them would be perfect for children.” She responds, “Though the companions that aren’t are the... darker companions. Such as the Bosses, Edgys, Grimby, and any of the Yanderes, though I don’t particularly carry those ones.”

  
“Ah, I see.” The two of you continue chatting, talking about the adoption forms and other things. Learning about some of the bitties, you find yourself hoping your son leans towards, perhaps the Papy or the Baby Blue. A while passes by before you hear a very decided _Ouch! Mommy!!_ And you quickly glance over to find your son, sniffling and coming over to you. He’s got his finger in his mouth, and a teary look in his eye. A bunch of bitties are following him, anxious.

  
“Oh no.” Miss Cry says, as she opens the gate, “Did an Edgy bite him?” She questions the bitties below. They all nod, as you bring your son towards you.

  
“Are you okay sweetie?”

  
“Yeah. One of them bit me.” He says grumpily, in between his finger. He turns and points at the bitty at the far end, wearing a thick red coat and a far too smug smirk. Your son sticks out his tongue to the bitty, to which the Edgy bitty blinks before returning the look, a red glowing tongue unfolding from his jaw. Your son giggles slightly, already seeming better.

  
“He didn’t bite you too hard now did he?” Miss Cry fusses slightly, a small frown on her face as she regards the bitty. He crosses his arms, and looks away pointedly. Miss Cry clucks her tongue.

  
“No, not really.”

  
“Do you know why he bit you?” Your son shrugs.

  
“Because he’s mean?”

  
“Well, kind of… But Edgy’s bite in order to get attention. It’s not a very nice way of doing it, but they do it anyway. Sometimes they like to be little troublemakers.” Your son’s face turns reflective on that, as he mulls the information over in his head. Suddenly, he turns to you, still sucking on his thumb.

  
“Oh. Well, Mommy, I’m done for today. I think I know what bitty I want for my birthday.”

  
“Oh? Which one is that, sweetie?” You ask

  
“It’s a surprise!” He responds, smiling up at you. You recognize that mischievous smirk and frown.

  
“Oh, well okay. Should I start getting any paperwork signed? Any good advice?” You turn to address Miss Cry, and she gives you a beaming smile.

  
“Yes, actually! Since this is an adoption, I would like a background check to be given to me, and I certainly have a care package and different pamphlets to give to you in order to start bitty-proofing your home for when you bring one of them home with you!”

  
You nod, “Of course.”

  
“Can I also converse privately with your son for a few moments? I would like to impart some special advice for him.”

  
You narrow your eyes, but nod firmly, “I suppose so. I will head to the front, then. Sweetie, be polite to the nice lady. Listen carefully to what she will tell you.”

  
“I will Mom!”

  
You make your way to the front, and decide to flip through the pamphlet to start mentally preparing your home for the bitty’s arrival next week. You glance at the pricing of the different items- such as specially made doll-houses, clothes, accessories and the like. You sigh. Your son was getting spoilt this year.

  
_Why did you agree he could have a bitty?_

  
A few minutes later, your son comes bounding towards you, a large smile on his face.

  
“Mommy! We have to come back every day until we adopt him!”

  
You blink, “What? Why?”

  
“It’s adoption policy," Miss Cry speaks up as she returns from the back with your son, "A minimum of 5 days of continuous meetings between adopter and adoptee before they can be fully adopted. I want to make sure that the bitty and adopter are compatible.”

  
You rub your eyes again. You hadn’t planned on that, “Oh, well, I suppose that’s possible. We’ll have to do it when I pick you up from school.” This is what you get for the spur of the moment stuff. You had been researching dog adoptions, not bitty adoptions. Good lord.

  
“Anytime is fine, but I request the meetings are generally 15 minutes in length, if not longer.”

  
“Right. Well, I guess we’ll just have to do it after school every day, okay sweetie?”

  
“Okay!”

  
Miss Cry gives you a very warm smile, her eyes crinkling and her ears twitching happily, “It has been a pleasure speaking with you both.”

  
“It was very nice to meet you Lady Cry!” Your son quips up. Again, his attempts at impressing you with good behaviour were seriously working.

  
He must really want a bitty. Badly.

  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

  
The next week passes by quite fast, you have to admit. Every day, after you pick up your son from school, you head to the adoption center. Your son is quivering with excitement, spilling and dropping things haphazardly. You scold his behaviour, but nothing seems to stick in his mind. All he can think about is the bitty he wants to adopt.

  
As your son nearly runs to the back room, barely greeting Miss Cry as he makes his way, you make sure to chat amicably with her. You ask questions about the bitties and continuously purchase stuff recommended to you by the kind store owner. _At least the adoption itself is free_. You think to yourself, sadly eyeing the money you keep losing as you find more things bitties need to be comfortable and well-maintained.

  
As you look at the time, you proceed to go and drag your son out of the pen. He goes along grudgingly, looking back every so often and calling out “see you tomorrow!” He’s rubbing a welt on his wrist, one of the many different bite and scratch marks he’s received here. You narrow your eyes.

  
“That Edgy bitty again?” You ask your son, and he shrugs. You frown, “That bitty needs to learn some manners. He cannot keep scratching and biting you just as he pleases.”

  
“Momma, it doesn’t hurt badly. He’s just lonely.”

  
“Lonely or not he cannot just attack people.”

  
“He just wants attention! He wants a friend!”

  
“Well if he stopped harming people, I’m sure he’d make plenty of friends!”

  
Your son just pouts and stalks off to the car.

  
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

  
It’s finally your sons birthday. You greet him with a smile and a kiss, giving him his favourite breakfast before he heads off to school. He’s chattering excitedly, spilling his meal everywhere despite your warning to ‘eat with your mouth closed’ and ‘settle down, we won’t get your bitty until after school’.

Somehow, you two manage to get into your van and off to school on time.

  
“Be good sweetie, okay?” You give him a big hug and kiss as you let him out of the van and he dutifully replies to you, voice tinged with impatience. He scurries his way to the entrance, seeming extra bouyant in his steps. You make your way to work, preparing for your own day as well. You pass the post office, picking up the packages that arrived today before clocking in.

  
Truth be told, you are also a little excited and nervous for this bitty companion. Which one did your son choose? Hopefully the bitty was calm, collected and able to balance out your sons behaviour when he was riled up. You had re-bought too many things due to your sons continued negligence and disregard.

  
Work finally ends and you make your way to your son's school, his teacher happily keeping him after hours with the other children that had parents who would come to pick their children up themselves.

  
Your son screeches his way towards you, flinging his backpack into the back of the van with a careless throw.

  
"Be careful! Put your bag in properly!" You scold him, and he just nods his head, already moving on to talking about getting to adopt his bitty.

  
"Momma lets go lets goooo!" You shake your head and put your car into reverse, waving politely to the teacher as you did so. You make the quick trip to the adoption center.

  
"LADY CRY!!!!!" Your son immediately shouts as he careens into the adoption center, "GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS!!!!"

  
The store owner looks up from the counter and smiles widely, "Happy Birthday! Time to adopt your bitty, right?" Her eyes are filled with mirth and excitement.

  
"RIGHT!!"

  
"Well let me go get him."

  
"CAN I HELP???!!!"

  
"Of course!" Your son eagerly scampers to Miss Cry's side and follows her in. You wait patiently for them to come out,.your sons bitty in tow.

  
"MOMMA LOOK LOOK THIS IS THE BITTY!! We're GUNNA BE AWESOME FRIENDS!" He nearly cackles, showing the bitty up to you as he exits the back room, Miss Cry in tow.

  
You gasp. It was a familiar looking grungy, red and scowling bitty. Your eyes narrow, your lips tighten.

  
"Not **_him_**!" You proclaim to your son, who only seems to smirk mischeviously up at you. Ah. There it was. The son that had been missing for a week.

  
"Yes, Momma. **_Him_**. He is my bitty and you promised me if I was good I'd get one for my birthday!"

  
Your eyes widen and you look up pleadingly to Miss Cry, "But-But... he _bites_ you sweetie!"

  
At that he shrugs, "Not a lot anymore! We have an... _understanding_." He says sagely, smiling up at Miss Cry.

  
She nods, "Yes. I have spoken to Edgy about being careful." Your eyes flicker to the scowling bitty, which merely sticks its tongue out at you in a juvenile gesture.

  
You're floundering. This was one of the last bitties you wished your son to pick (and somehow you knew all the same he'd pick this, just because you didn't want him too. That was probably why you were beginning to horde medical supplies) but once your son gives you that puppy dog expression, you crack. He reminds you of the promise once again, and you sigh.

  
"Well as long as you are sure, sweetie." You grumble, eyeing the relatively quiet bitty with slight distaste. He better not overly harm your child, or teach him any sort of bad behaviour... You had enough of that to deal with already.

  
Your son laughs, triumphant, and brings the bitty to the table as Miss Cry flits behind it, drawing up papers for you to sign. She pulls out a carrier from behind the desk and helps your son get his bitty into it as you sign the documents as the legal, and of age, guardian.

  
"Ouch!" Your son calls out, before a slam of the cage is heard. You turn to see him sucking his finger once again. He looks up at your expression, pulling his finger out, "Didn't hurt at all, momma!" He takes the cage hurriedly, hardly even thanking Miss Cry for her help before he is waiting impatient at the door for you. You hold back, imparting your thanks and apologizing on behalf of your son.

  
She merely smiles, "I hope those two get along well. They seem to have actually reached an understanding of sorts." Her eyes grow mirthful, "I wish you luck on their mutual destructive mischeif."

  
Oh lord. You think to yourself. Just what have I gotten myself into?

  
!-!-!-!-!

  
Pain, anger and sadness.

  
Thats what you got yourself into.

  
You had feared that the bitty would take to harming your son. Bullying him, tormenting him, whichever. Instead the Bitty- which had taken the name of R for some reason- encouraged the destructive nature that was your son. They giggled and squealed as they toppled over dressers, shelves and the like in the house. A vase knocked over? A plant ripped up? Carpet full of holes?

  
It was driving you insane.

  
"You two troublemakers have to clean up your mess! Immediately!"

  
"But Maaa.....!" Two voices groaned in unison, one perched atop the others shoulder.

  
"No 'but Ma' me! Clean it up!" You scolded. Your son sighs, and R groans.

  
"Okay...." They both remark, trudging towards the latest mess they made.

  
Within minutes after you turned your back, you could hear them giggling maniacally, no doubt cleaning forgotten and more destruction immeniant. You close your eyes in defeat.

  
_Oh why did I let my son get a bitty?_


	2. Something Precious [Sansy + Female!Newborn]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader Style.
> 
> You have a child. A precious baby girl.
> 
> Sorry but this is rather short *shrugs apologetically*

Its a continuous cycle of pain, pushing, crying and screaming. For nearly 48 hours.

  
Its hell. Such horrible agony.

  
But the beautiful, softly cooing little bundle that blinks up at you softly is more than enough. Your heart melts, you feel such a wonderful glow.

  
Your perfect, precious little princess is so adorable. So sweet and cute and everything you hoped for. Your partner comes in, anxious but elated as well and immediately falls in love with the precious little baby.

  
You couldn't wait to go home with your baby.

Your precious princess.

  
After all, you had another little one waiting for you, your partner and the new arrival to come home.

  
!-!-!-

  
It's a few days after the birth that the doctors allow you to return home, exhausted but happy. Your darling newborn is healthy, and happy and you check out with a clean bill of health as well.

  
Your partner drives you back home, as you coo and preen the swaddled bundle of joy. You felt so happy in this moment, and you couldn't wait to share it with your other precious baby. Your partner shares the same sentiment, and proclaims how the one at home had been shivering with excitement to see you again, and the baby when they had went home.

  
You smile.

  
"Sansy, baby, we're home!" You call out tiredly, as your partner opens the door and helps you inside. They hover around you, gently touching their child with tentative fingers before walking into the kitchen at your insistence of a meal. You sit down on the couch, bringing your darling child up into your lap. It gurgles and grunts in its sleep.

  
"you're back!" Your little Sansy immediately blips himself beside you, grasping your free arm in a hug. He hovers around you, smoothing his boney fingers whispering, "are you okay?"

  
You smile, nod and whisper, "I'm more than okay." Your gaze drifts back down to the little bundle in your arms.

  
Sansy cranes his neck from his position beside your hips, "can i see?"

  
"Of course, Sansy." You murmer, shifting yourself and your darling newborn around and pulling the cloth down a smidgeon. Your baby stirs, gurgling and bringing a tiny grasping hand out.

  
Sansy gasps, stars sparking from his eyes, "she's so _small_." He murmurs, a shaking hand reaching out. He looks to you for confirmation, assurance and you nod your head. Sansy, quivering, gently takes the grasping hand in his, "so _soft_." He says, astounded, "and **_warm_**..." your little princess opens her eyes and Sansy flinches slightly as she stares, unblinking at him.

  
A very happy, gurgling giggle comes from her, the corners of her mouth tipping up in a smile.

  
Your little Sansy falls just as deeply in love with her as you are.

  
!-!-!-!-

  
After the first meeting, Sansy and your precious baby are nearly inseperable. Sansy takes naps with her, at all times, snuggling as close as physically possible. The two are nearly the same size, and Sansy seems to love that (of course you tell him that she won't stay that small for long).

  
He holds her hands, her feet- anything and just caresses them and repeats her noises back to her. His face lights up in the most ridiculously cute smile when she utters any sort of laugh or cry of delight at him (and your heart melts as well, precious little baby girl she is). He's constantly around her, and is incredibly perceptive to her needs.

  
He taps on you when its time to feed her, taps on either you or your partner when she needs changing and simply lulls her to sleep when she is cranky and tired. He dotes on her constantly, not seeming to tire or wear out.

  
"she's so precious, ma." Sansy remarks to you suddenly one day, his voice filled with awe and wonder.

  
You giggle and smirk, agreeing with him entirely, "She is our precious little princess, thats for sure. I'm sure with you around, she'll feel precious all the time."

  
Sansy is quiet for a few moments, before he pipes up again, "i love her so much ma."

  
"I bet she loves you just as much."


	3. Subdued and Silent [G & Girl]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Real sorry about such a ridiculous amount of time to wait for a new chapter. Truth be told, I went down to see my parents for the summer and internet quality... Is really extremely suck-y down there. I mean, very VERY sucky.
> 
> Not to mention it's rather hard to write anything down there, with my siblings and just... you know, enjoying the summer ^^
> 
> But anyway enough about me, here is an actual update! That I did! It was based off a request, and some of my own thoughts too, so I hope you like it. Though, since it is months ago since I was requested this, I don't know if the person who requested it will actually read it. Haha ^^; Oh well.

“You! I demand you give me the best bitty you have in this place!” A rather striking middle-aged woman, dressed in an elegant business suit, orders in a sharp tone. Her shoes clack smartly on the tile floor, as the clerk at the front of the store just merely stares at the woman waltzing her way to the front, demanding all attention be drawn to her, “I require the _best_ bitty for my daughter, Melissa.”

The clerk blinks, before craning their neck and finally spotting the silent, subdued darkly-dressed little girl, trailing behind the more striking, intimidating woman. The child was clutching a book to their form, eyes adverted and face withdrawn.

The woman slams her hand down on the counter, startling the clerk and causing a squeak to slip past their lips, “Are you just going to _stand there_ and _stare_ all day or are you going to do your damn job? A bitty! Chop chop!”

“I-uh-well-it’s- uh…” The clerk is shaking, eyes flickering back between the mother and her child, “You- you- I don’t just- you need to _choose_ a bitty-”

The mother rolls her eyes, snarling slightly, “Well of _all_ the incompetent… Come on, Melissa. Go choose. Be quick about it, Mother has a meeting to get to that your **_father_** fostered on me, the useless bastard.” Her phone rings, and she answers it, walking out of the store with her sharp, clicking footsteps following her.

The clerk stares at the little girl, who was still looking at the floor silently. The clerk clears their throat.

“So… um…” The child only clutches their book tighter, scrunching their shoulders together. The clerk coughs, awkwardly, “Do you… uh, do you want to see the bitties?” The child continues to say nothing. The clerk is now in… quite a predicament. They were pretty anxious, eyes glancing towards the mother pacing just outside the door. They didn’t want to know what would happen if the mother came back in and the daughter didn’t have a bitty in their possession, “Well, ahem, follow me to see the bitties…” Thankfully, the child follows silently as the clerk brings them to the back room, which housed all the different bitties, “Ah, this is the bitty room. You can look at all the different bitties, and er… pick… uh, which ones you want?” The clerk shuffles his feet, the child still not answering, “Just, uh, call me when you made a decision.” The clerk stands awkwardly at the wall, watching the silent girl make her way around the bitty enclosures.

The clerk watches as she paces around them, before suddenly remembering, “Oh! Oh! You can go into the middle enclosure! It connects to all of them, for easy meeting ability. Here, lemme open it for you so you can talk with all the different bitties.”

Melissa watches with silent eyes as the clerk comes forward, unlatching the gate and gesturing for her to go inside. Melissa eyes the enclosure, before taking the few hesitant steps inside.

Almost immediately she is flooded with bitties of all shapes and sizes, each vying for her attention. She wanly smiles at all of them- the little girl _did_ love pets- but the attention was rather... unwelcome. Especially from these... monsters? They acted just like normal people, only smaller- and Melissa could say she felt mostly uncomfortable around groups of people.

Which was definitely something her mother did not like.

"Hello! How are you?"

"What is your name?"

"What is your favourite colour?"

"Do you like candy?? I LOVE candy!"

"Hmmph what is a _thing_ like you doing here?"

"ARE YOU PLANNING ON ADOPTING ONE OF US???!!" Melissa was already starting to feel overwhelmed by the questions, but the sudden expectant looks on each bitties face as the one bitty- an over excited one at that- had hollered that question aloud; really startled Melissa, and that sudden surge of anxiousness was mounting. _They look so... so..._ expectant. Wanting. Like she was the one that would save them, take them all into a loving, happy home.

Really. **_Really_** too much expectation for Melissa to deal with.

"Uh..." Melissa squeaks out, looking at all of the bitties demanding her time and attention. She scrunches her shoulders slightly, mouth pursed tightly, till they were white. Melissa waited for the bitties to get bored of her, as typical of any one else. (Too bad that didn't work on her mother)

Stay quiet, stay subdued and silent and eventually their interest- and expectations of you- would pass.

Which was mostly true. Some of the grouchier ones that had come over were already sauntering away. A few other, slightly calmer ones had moved on. Some were still hanging around her, asking questions and for attention but Melissa could easily bow her head contritely- easier to voice an opinion of apology- and stiffly move on, to a quieter corner of the pen. In a practised motion, Melissa sat down and opened her book, a comforting action.

Truth be told, Melissa didn't exactly **_want_** another pet. She had so many already! More of her mother’s "plans to make her social" or something-or-other. The pets were apparently to stimulate some type of 'social-ness' within her, a friend or really _anything;_ but Melissa had managed to side swipe those notions by getting very easy-to-care-for and not-very-needy pets. Such as a few reptiles, a gerbil (and a buddy for the first gerbil to play with. Just because Melissa didn't mind being alone didn't mean everyone else does), and an extremely lazy and solitary cat. Most of those pets needed food and water- as well as the odd occasional pet and play for the few times Melissa felt too alone in her little world.

Which she liked. Melissa liked it that way. But her mother must have caught on to that plan- how Melissa wasn't learning "social ability" or some such bullcrap and was determined to find something better. Something Melissa would be _forced_ to spend time with, come out of her "hovel of a bedroom" and interact with.

After all, Melissa's mother had _tried_ a type of 'improvised' human therapy, but that hadn't ended well. And the therapist her mother had hired _after_ that incident had strongly recommended something smaller. Like a pet.

Which brings Melissa right back around to here. In this pen. With sentient... monster beings, which could act and think and speak like adults.

Her mother must be patting herself on the back for finding such a pet. Or "companions" as the website had firmly stated them as.

Melissa slowly started focusing on the objects around her, her hands clutching the book desperately. She suddenly finds an interesting bitty standing before her, illuminating the space between them.

The bitty was almost like a little flame, with its... hair? Flickering back and forth in a mesmerizing way. It had some metal stretched around its face, almost like tiny glasses. Bright sparks of light, probably its eyes, were lit softly in curiosity. It was dressed rather strangely, almost as if it was in a waiter’s suit. Odd, indeed, for something that was to be adopted.

 _Did it have a job?_ Melissa wondered to herself, _Or does this bitty just enjoy wearing such clothing?_

The bitty points towards Melissa's chest, the flames on its head crackling. Melissa only stares back in confusion. _What does it want from me?_

The bitty keeps pointing, and Melissa finally looks down. She held out the book, gesturing to it, "You want my book?" Melissa's voice is quiet, soft and a tiny bit wavy.

The bitty nods, but steps back, flustered as Melissa tries to hand it over to the bitty. Melissa's brows crunch together, still confused, "What is it you want?" He makes the motion of opening the book and flipping pages with his fiery fingers, "You want me to read to you?" Melissa asks.

Finally the bitty nods, and Melissa looks at her book before looking at the bitty in question, "Well no one has asked me to read to them before." Melissa admits shyly, as she then proceeds to flip the book to the first page and start, "It is a really interesting book, and I'm sure anyone would enjoy it!" Just as she finished the first page of the book, a sharp voice booms from behind the door.

"MELISSA, WHERE ARE YOU? HAVE YOU PICKED ONE OF THEM YET?"

"Oh god." Melissa hears the clerk mutter aloud, before they reach to the door and call out to her mother, alerting her to where her daughter was.

Melissa watches her mother sweep into the room, apprehensive as always. The sharp gaze of her mother immediately finds her, and narrows on the book she had spread out in her arms.

"Melissa!" She snaps, her tart tone causing Melissa to flinch, "Did you just sit in the corner and READ? Did you even bother trying to find a bitty?"

Almost immediately Melissa is scrambling up, tucking the book behind her, "N-no mother! I was just..." her eyes dart down to the bitty, looking alarmed, beneath her, "just showing this- this bitty here my book. He was- he was curious."

"Oh? So you have chosen one then?"

"I-uh, well..."

"Melissa the entire point of being here was to get you a **_companion_**. Now stop dwadling and get one! I don't have all day!"

"Y-yes Mother." With a harsh look, trying to instill compliance, the mother sweeps back out.

Melissa looks down at the little bitty below her, giving a very wiry smile, "I don't supposed you'd like to come with me to hear the rest of the book?" Internally, Melissa was already trying to come up with some sort of plan on how to convince her mother on **_why_** she didn't have a bitty with her... it's not like Melissa wouldn't have minded one... but talking and asking one?

How was one supposed to do that? Why would a bitty even want to be adopted by her?

Melissa takes a few deep breaths, before walking out of the pen and to the front of the store to face her mother.

Her mother was waiting at the front desk, tapping away on her phone with a sour expression. After a good few moments of typing, she looks up, the expression slightly melting away at the sight of her daughter. However her eyes narrow, noting nothing in her daughters hands.

"Did you pick one?" She asks, pocketing her phone and cocking her brow harshly.

"Well- uh, Mother I must admit-"

"That, indeed, a very caring and beautiful bitty is going to be adopted by her!" The clerk swoops in, holding the flaming bitty in their hands. The bitty jumps onto the counter top, looking up at Melissa, the lights in its eyes twinkling.

The flames flicker, before a sharp crackling sound is heard, "I would very much like to hear the rest of the book." The voice is deep, almost a smokey feeling to it. Its full of dips and crackles, much like how a flame bobs and weaves, crackling to its own tune.

Melissa blinks down at the bitty, confused. Oh no, did it actually take the invitation as _real?_ Did he feel obligated to answer you? To come and hear the rest of the book?

Melissa's mother's mouth widens to a large grin, "Perfect! And what an interesting thing too. Flames. Maybe it'll also make itself useful around the house." The Mother casually tosses money onto the table, "Here, more than enough for the bitty pet and any other useless pet stuff it needs. See to it my daughter gets the best supplies you have. I have another call to make, and I expect to be able to leave once I am done." The mother briskly walks out the store, phone already out and at her ear.

The clerk looks at the daughter once again, who was tight lipped and silent once more. However, instead of the floor it was the bitty her eyes were focused on.

The clerk takes a look at the cash and sighs. They really didn't know what to do with all this. Should they have called the owners instead?

After all, they were a little wary of the parent and the child. Such a brash persona with a quiet one. Could a bitty be able to survive in such a place?

But then again, the woman had paid... and the clerk didn't really want to know what the lady was capable of. She seemed way too intimidating to cross (and they were rather new so... they didn't want to lose this job)

And the little G had politely asked to be taken to the girl to be adopted. She hadn't waited for his answer, after all.

The clerk didn't want to point out that the girls question had been rather rhetorical, and then elected to grab all the gear the Grillbitty would need.

 _Might as well plan for the inevitable point where he is returned..._ the clerk thinks to themselves, sadly. Should they butt in and stop the adoption/purchase now...? Ugh, they just didn't know what to do.

Melissa, on the other hand, was staring at the bitty as he just stared back.

"You- you _want_ to be adopted by me?"

A nod.

"Are you really sure?"

Another nod.

"I'm- uh..." A gulp, "Uh, not exactly the most... umm... affectionate caretaker...?"

The bitty shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't talk that much either."

The flames on his head crackle.

"I like to read a lot. Is that a bad thing for you?"

A shake of the head.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Do _you_ wish to adopt me?"

"Well I- uh..." Melissa licks her lips, trembling slightly. Did she? Honestly... it was nice how the bitty had taken an interest in her book, instead of berating her for not socializing with the others. For being quietly in the corner and had just politely asked to join her...

Perhaps if such a soft spoken and rather silent bitty was her companion, Melissa wouldn't mind having such company at all. He seemed rather pleasant, and Melissa had this nice... feeling deep in her chest.

"-I'd... like to try." Melissa responds shyly, and the flame bitty seems to glow softly with that remark.

The clerk then heaves a bag up onto the counter, before grabbing the money and ringing it into the till, and providing change by slipping it into the bag.

The clerk gives one last skeptic glance at the bitty and the girl, before shoving the large bag over. They force the customer service smile, "Well, here's all the basic stuff. Like extra cloths, fire-proof of course. A care package, full of booklets about bitties, and one especially on Grillbitties. A flame proof bed for the little guy, as well as a specially made, fire proof, bitty home for the guy to have his own space." The clerk also produces a rather tiny carrier, and helps the bitty inside of it. The clerk watches, slightly surprised as the girl takes the bag and carrier in hand- murmurs a low thank you- and takes off towards her mother, who was waiting outside the door.

The ride home is full of silence- but a rather pensive silence. Melissa looks down at her new friend with quiet eyes, wondering about why she had taken it.

Would the bitty like it at her place? Would it want to spend time with her? Should she have allowed her mother to so offhandedly get her a bitty? Not like Melissa could really stop her mother when she was determined; but still, it was a little life in her hands. Her reptilian pets were easy to care for; hardly needy anything but food, water and sunlight. Her cat was much the same. Food, water and just the slight amount of attention that Melissa felt comfortable to provide. She couldn't handle a dog, which was one to always crave such attention. How would she say of a bitty?

"Hurry, dear, I need to leave in 10 minutes." Her mother says, pulling into the large driveway, leading to their even larger house. Melissa carefully steps out, carrier in hand. Her mother takes up the other bag, swiftly walking off to place it in the house and return to her work. As she passes by Melissa again, she tells her, "Now remember, no more of tucking yourself into your room anymore, reading the day away. You have a bitty to care for- and they are _companions._ Something capable of helping you get over this... social crutch you seem to have. At least I hope so. I have to go see your useless waste of a father over in his office now. Have a good day, Melissa. Keep your bitty company." With that her mother marches off.

Melissa sighs, but feels a bit more comfortable with the fact her mother was going to be out for the day.

Melissa enters the large, rather empty home and immediately sets the carrier down and lets the bitty out. He carefully walks out, looking around the entry way with curious eyes. His flames crackle and whip into of his head with a strange fervor.

 _Is he excited_? Melissa asks of herself. She takes the bag of supplies and heads off, deep into the house. She walks slowly, making sure the bitty would easily keep up with her. They were both silent.

Melissa takes the supplies directly into her room. Not much was placed in her room, besides a bed, a dresser, a large desk and a book case filled with books. None of her other pets were in here, her mother having elected to keep most of them contained in a separate room. As much as she wanted her daughter 'cured' of her social problems, she didn't want her being distracted from her studies. The only thing she hadn't been able to be rid of was the bookshelf, but thats because it contained not only Melissa's story books but her study books as well.

"This is my room." Melissa says softly, hoping the bitty was listening. She places the bag in the corner, "I'm not sure where you want your little house set up. We can search for a good room for it if you wish-"

"I like this room." The bitty responds.

"Oh."

They stand there, silent for a while, until the bitty asks about the book.

Melissa almost immediately jumps into action, "Oh, yes! Of course!" She roots around in the shopping bag, where she had slipped it in during the ride back to the house. She pulls it out, turning around but hovering anxiously on where to sit down so the both of them could enjoy it.

The bed? At the desk? Just on the floor? Where? The bitty makes the decision for her and simply settles at the foot of the bed. Melissa quickly follows suit, watching as the bitty repositions himself on her bent knees.

Slowly, Melissa opens the book and returns to the first chapter and clears her throat. Reading the book went on for quite a while, Melissa didn't know she was hungry until her stomach gave her a very loud reminder, startling the bitty that had settled so comfortably on her kneecap.

Melissa looks sheepishly at the bitty, who was blinking at her, "Sorry." She says softly, "I think we need to postpone chapter 10 until we have something to eat. Are you hungry as well? What exactly does a bitty eat?"

The Grillbitty scrambles off Melissa's leg, allowing her up. She walks out of her room, slowly so as to allow the bitty to follow.

The flames on its head crackle in consideration, "Same foods as you." He announces.

"Ah."

The walk is mainly silent, and the two of them reach the large kitchen quietly.

Melissa moves to the fridge, opening it and wondering what to serve herself and the bitty. She has some basic cooking, being left alone most of the time, but not enough for anything too complex.

"Do you want anything special?" Melissa asks, turning to bend down and regard the little bitty. He shakes his head, the flames wildly flickering. Melissa turns back around, feeling rather hopeless as she stared up into the mountains of containers, vegetables and meats and cheeses in the fridge. What would the bitty like? What if what she picked was something he hated? It would be so much better if he had just given a straight answer.

Melissa bit her lip, before finally reaching out and pulling out some meats.

"Perhaps a sandwich?" She questions the bitty. She bends down and opens her palm. He eagerly jumps into her awaiting hands and is placed onto the counter, "There's a wide variety of meats, so please feel free to choose something." Melissa then goes to grab a bag of bread from the bread cabinet.

The little bitty is standing before one of the meat selections; a spicy type of pepperoni. Melissa personally chooses the turkey for herself. Melissa digs out 4 slices of bread, before halting. Would the bitty eat an entire sandwich?

"Hey, uh.... umm...." Melissa freezes as the sudden realization of the fact she didn't know the bitties name hits her. She glances at the bitty, ashamed. How could she have adopted him, read him a story and plan to give him food all without asking his name? How rude was that?

The bitty only looks at her. Melissa blushes fiercely, feeling even more upset and anxious over her mistake, "Whatisyourname?" She rushes out, quietly.

The bitty continues to say nothing. Melissa fidgets.

"What is your name?" Melissa asks, once again but slower. The bitty rolls his shoulders in a shrugging motion.

"It is up to you."

Melissa opens and closes her mouth, not liking the turn of events, the responsibility of choice, "Is there a name you like?" _I can't just call him bitty all the time._

"Grillby." Is his answer.

Grillby it is, "Grillby, could you eat a whole sandwich yourself?" Melissa holds up the two slices of bread for him to see, "Or just... a half? She folds the bread experimentally, as if to demonstrate. Her anxiety was still fiddling with her, making her fiddle with the bread too much. It falls apart in her hands, to her dismay.

"A half is fine." He responds before Melissa could acknowledge the broken slice.

"Would you like your bread toasted?" Melissa asks, still feeling anxious as she drops her own bread in the toaster. Grillby watches her curious.

"Toasted?" He asks.

"Yes. Its um... well, toasting the bread. Heating it up." A few seconds of silence and her toast pops. She shows it to Grillby, before proceeding to awkwardly make her sandwich in his presence.

"I shall." He proclaims after a few minutes of silent contemplation. Melissa reaches for the slice, but Grillby stops her, "I would like to do it."

Melissa watches, fascinated as Grillby takes a deep breath, and then raises his hands. His eyes flash, and sudden a blast of fire leaves his exposed palms. It is only a few seconds, and the bread is blackened. The bitty flips it over and repeats the process.

Melissa has long since forgotten her sandwich, and is staring at Grillby, eyes wide.

"You can make fire?" Melissa squeaks out. Grillby instantly freezes. Was he not supposed to? Melissa gives a shy smile, "That's... that's actually pretty cool."

Grillby flushes, the area around him turning a hue of yellowy-orange from his emotion-connected magic. His flames dance on his head, crackle with an excited tone. Melissa gives a breathless giggle, returning to her sandwich, and gently helping Grillby get his meat and asking if he took anything on it.

At the mentions of condiments, Grillby makes a sort of weird expression, "No thank you." He responds softly. He also shakes his head when Melissa asks him if he'd rather have a.... not burnt piece of toast. Grillby was pretty sure he'd like it this way (and he was right).

Melissa places the two sandwiches on a large plate, and hesitates before Grillby. She flushes brightly, "Um... would you... you know, like to... sitonmyshouldertobecarriedtothediningroom? Or would you rather walk yourself?"

Grillby simply settles himself on the plate, and Melissa pales a little, "Oh. Yes. That works too." She gives a little sigh, before making her way to the dining room. She settles herself in a seat, placing the plate gently on the table. Grillby sits on the plate, poking at his own sandwich as Melissa begins to eat hers.

It was a rather silent meal.

That is until her cat, Doris, came prowling into the room. She was slightly meowing, indicating her own time to be fed. Melissa supposed it was time to feed her other pets, as well.

Grillby watches as Melissa gets up silently, heading off. She glances down at him, shy smile and explains what she was about to do, slightly offering him to join. She leaves (again) before Grillby could form his answer.

Was his caretaker really that bad at conversation, in that she didn't know to stick around for the answer? Grillby finishes off the rest of his own meal, before looking down the edge of the table. Melissa had left her chair out, leaving a suitable way for him to jump down. So he does, flames flickering close to the wooden furniture.

Grillby sighs in relief as he manages not to accidentally catch it on fire. It didn't happen often, mind, but one could never be too careful.

Grillby decided to make his way around the house, to try and find his new companion. She had invited him, after all. Grillby wished to see the other pets she had.

However, Grillby stands outside the dining room, flames fluttering anxiously. This house was rather big. How would he locate his human companion? Focusing slightly, Grillby tried to pinpoint his companion’s soul glow. He would easily locate her this way.

He found Melissa in a rather large room. It held different tanks of different types of animals- many Grillby did not know of. He knew of dogs, and cats- as they were typical house pets that the bitties were warned most people may have already.

These were rather new.

Some were in watery containers, and Grillby made a mental note to never go near them. Others had dry tanks, with leaves and sticks and rocks and things inside of it. However the animals in those were scaly, long and Grillby felt a little intimidated by them. Especially as they flickered a long tongue out of their mouth. Grillby couldn't help but shudder.

Melissa herself was dumping a helping of some flaky food into one of the water tanks, before closing the lid, tucking the food bottle onto a shelf and turning around. She froze as her eyes alit on Grillby.

"Wha-?"

"You offered to show your pets."

Realization shone in her eyes, before anxiousness and guilt appeared, "I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd- well you were still eating, I didn't... um. I-I- Sorry." She was rather contrite and apologetic.

"It is no bother." She was still rather stiff and anxious looking. Grillby didn't like the crease forming on her forehead. What was she thinking? Grillby watches as she shuffles her way towards him. She offers a gentle palm.

"Do... do you still wish to see them?" She asks. Grillby nods, clambering into her awaiting hands. She takes him to the first tank, with a large scaly creature inside, four legs holding it up. It was resting on a large branch, basking in artificial lamp light.

"This is Brutus. He is a lizard." Melissa proclaims, bringing Grillby close to the glass to see him. The lizard doesn't budge, content on the tree branch. Melissa shuffles over to another large tank, a ways away from the first. It had another scaly creature, it curled into itself. It didn't have any legs, however, "Marie is a snake." The tongue flickers from its mouth, and it moves its head towards the two of them. Grillby frowns, unnerved by the stare it was giving him, tongue flickering wildly. Melissa moved on, to the water tank. Grillby was certain to back away from it, eyeing it with a sliver of dread.

"This is my fish tank. There is quite a few fish in there. Some goldfish, a beta fish umm... other fish. I'm not too certain though. Mother bought a lot of them." She moves away, proceeding out of the room with the many different tanks and things.

"And you've already met Doris. She is my cat, and the most recent addition... Well I suppose besides you."

"You have many different animals living here." Grillby remarks.

"I suppose so. All of them were bought by my mother." Melissa hesitates in the hallway, "Is there... anything you wish to do?"

"Were we not going to continue the book?"

"Oh, yes. Yes of course." Melissa gleefully carries Grillby back into her room, where they continue the book.

 

!~!~!~!~!~!

 

"MELISSA!" Melissa jolts out of her reading reverie, startling Grillby- who had moved and perched on her shoulder. She instantly shuts the book, looking slightly panicked as she gets up and puts it away. Grillby hangs onto her hair, hoping his shock wouldn't accidentally singe her hair he was gripping.

Melissa is just out the door of her room when her mother comes around the corner. She gives a stern look to her daughter, sparing a small glance at Grillby placed on her shoulder.

"Melissa, you didn't clean up the mess you made in the kitchen."

Melissa blanks, before flushing and bowing her head, "Sorry Mother."

"Don't apologize, just go clean it up."

"Yes." Melissa immediately shuffles past her mother, rushing towards the kitchen, Grillby bouncing on her shoulder.

Grillby clambers down onto the table, "I shall help you." Melissa gives him a small smile.

"Thank you."

Grillby collects the bits of bread and crumbs, placing them in a pile, while Melissa puts the package of bread away. She also runs to the dining room and grabs the plate, putting it in the dishwasher. Grillby takes the pile, burning it in his hands until he only had a few small chunks of charcoal. He inspects it, before popping it into his mouth.

It was interesting, to say the least.

"Hey, Mel." Grillby watches as Melissa face lights up.

"Hello Father!" She says happily, watching as he comes into the kitchen. His eyes find Grillby, and his eyebrows raise slightly.

"S'that the new pet your mother wanted?"

Grillby shuffles over to Melissa, eyes wary on this new human. He was tired looking, had a few sour lines on his features and was rather hairy to boot. Grillby presses against Melissa's fingers, which had come to rest on the countertop.

"Yes! His name is Grillby, and he is a companion, not a pet."

At that her father rolls his eyes, "Right. They come up with all sorts of 'politically correct' bullshit nowadays. People today are just too fucking soft." He then roots around in the fridge, leaving Melissa to frown and crinkle her forehead.

She leaves the kitchen, Grillby in hand. Her mother passes her by, announcing what she will be preparing for dinner. Melissa can hear her father scoff and complain from within the kitchen. Her mother gives a sour retort, and Melissa is already leaving the area- wanting nothing more than to be in her own room when her parents are both in the house.

"Do your parents not like each other?" Is Grillby's first personal question, as soon as Melissa had settled them both on the bed, the book back in hand.

Melissa freezes, biting her lip and looking away, "What makes you say that?" She asks hesitantly, shakily turning to the last page they had been at.

"Both of them do not seem happy to see each other. And your mother did call your father a few names earlier."

Melissa pinches her lips together and does not reply. Grillby takes that as an answer.

After a few terse moments, Melissa starts reading.

They get to the next chapter when Melissa's mother calls for her. Melissa gets up, allows Grillby to re-settle on her shoulder, and presses on to the dining room, where her mother had already set out plates of food.

Melissa settles into her chair, and waits for her mother to come into the room. She does with a large wine bottle and a pitcher of milk.

"Ah, Melissa!" Her eyes narrow on Grillby, "You know I don't like pets at the table."

"Mother you said yourself Grillby was not a pet but a companion. He says he eats just like we do."

"Grillby?"

"It is his name."

"And he eats just like us?"

"... yes..."

Melissa's mother purses her lips, but relents and sits down, setting the milk near her daughter. She pours herself a copious amount of wine and begins eating.

"Are we not waiting for Father?" The hint of longing is clear in Melissa's voice.

Her mother stabs the food angrily, "No," She grinds out, "He's **_busy_**. As **_always_** _._ "

"But he was here earlier-"

"And left. Probably to his cheap who-" Her mother immediately stops her sentence, glancing at her daughters confused face. Grillby was impassive, but he was certainly learning.

 

!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!

 

The next day is the weekend, and her mother has to leave again. Her father had not returned from last night.

Grillby awakens from the pillow he had fallen asleep on, blinking up at the peaceful face of the girl who had adopted him.

Melissa.

They had immediately gone into a book reading flurry after they had excused themselves from the dining room, Melissa's mother’s oppressive anger drifting dangerously within Melissa's mind. Melissa had covered them in a large, warm comforter, backed by fluffy pillows.

The gentle tones of Melissa's voice, which had grown more comfortable and confident with each page read, had lulled Grillby into a peaceful type of sleep.

And now, with the light of the morning drifting lazily into the room, Grillby was curiously studying his companion. A loud type of humming/purring noise brings Grillby to twist around, coming face-to-face with Melissa's cat, Doris.

Doris's dark eyes were trained on him, and Grillby shifted warily on the pillow. There was a tiny whiff of burning silk floating in the air. The cat was unblinking.

Grillby was getting more and more anxious as the cat crept towards him her nose twitching. The burning smell was increasing.

The cat was mere millimeters from him. Almost as suddenly, the cat rears back, yowling and pawing at its nose. Singed hair smell mingled with burning silk.

Doris hissed at Grillby, hair puffing up before leaping off the bed and scampering away. Grillby's flames were dancing wildly.

"Whug-whats going on?" Melissa's tired voice brings Grillby around to her. He quickly bolts up, flushing at the singed, burnt part of the pillow. He needed to be more careful of his magic when he was stressed or emotional. Her nose crinkles at the smell, and she blinks at Grillby before looking at her pillow. Her eyes widen, and she sits up, "Oh."

Carefully she takes the pillow and shucks it from its case. She inspects the pillow- only the silk casing was damaged- and placed it back on the edge of the bed. With a sheepish glance, she goes over to the bag she had placed in her room and brings out some of her items. She places the bed she had gotten on top of her own, "Sorry. I forgot to... well, um..." She glances away again, "I'll have to make your little house today. And get everything set up- sorry I should have done this sooner but..." Melissa trails off again, biting her lip.

"I would like to help build the house with you." Melissa glances at him, her expression a confusing mix of different things.

"Only if you want to." Is her response, before she proclaims she would be getting ready and getting dressed. She does this within her bathroom.

She exits, and says she was going to have breakfast. Would he like to come?

Grillby said yes, and was inwardly pleased she had waited this time for his answer.

Melissa isn't surprised when she finds a note, telling her that her mother had gone out. Melissa wonders if her father had come back yet, but it was doubtful.

She was alone once again.

"Toast?" She asks, and Grillby nods. Just as she brings the bread around, Grillby requests that he helps with the toasting. He'd like to be useful.

Melissa shifts in her spot, "Well, as long as mine isn't burnt." She responds, and places three pieces of toast on the counter. Grillby flickers and smiles, before happily flaming the three pieces of toast. Melissa's toast is only slightly crunchy and blackened.

Melissa pours herself a glass of milk, and offers to Grillby. He shakes his head.

"I don't do well with liquids." Grillby supplies, the flames of his being swaying- as if indicating a point.

"Oh." Melissa feels rather stupid for offering.

They take their meal to the dining room, and sit silently as before. It’s not a bad silence. Melissa watches as Doris pops into the room, but freezes at the sight of Grillby and darts off, further into the house. There is a low growl too.

What was with that?

Melissa doesn't ask, but is extremely curious when Grillby too, seems affected by Doris's outburst. His flames have grown quiet and somber.

Was he afraid of Doris?

Or was he sad Doris obviously didn't like him?

After they were done, Melissa takes the quiet Grillby back into her room. She pulls the bag over, and proceeds to rummage through it and take out everything.

She finds the bitty booklet and looks at it sheepishly. She'll have to read that later, so she sets it aside.

She hefts the bitty home out of the bag; its a box with a picture of what it would look like. It needs to be assembled.

It also has a requiremental age of assembly, or a parental figure to be around. Why would a bitty home have that? Were these just reused doll houses?

But that was beside the point. Melissa didn't have a parental figure to help. Nor would she for the entire day, most likely.

Melissa just opens the box and hopes that she could build it herself, anyway. She pulls out the instruction manual, flipping through the pages. Looks simple enough, she supposes- most of it was snapped into place.

Grillby, at this point, had wandered over from his observation point by the bed. He was helping to pull out some of the pieces, trying to place them in some type of order.

Melissa is face deep in the instructions, murmuring, "So all the pieces should have letters on them..." She looks up at Grillby, who just nods and points to a piece that was labelled, "Alright, well... we need to find piece D... it's, um, the bottom piece..." Grillby helpfully nudges the D piece, while Melissa pulls it over in front of her.

Around an hour and a half passes by in the same fashion, Melissa reading the instruction booklet carefully and Grillby helpfully nudging pieces around, and setting some of the smaller, connecting pieces inside of the house itself.

And soon enough, a good bitty house- it was a simple, one story house that was sectioned off to make different rooms- was constructed on the floor of Melissa's room. She places the instructions on her desk and turns around to observe their handiwork. Grillby pads towards her, feeling incredibly accomplished and proud of their work.

Which is still in the middle of Melissa's floor. She gasps, "Oh no." Grillby looks up at her curiously, "We should have built it in the room you wanted!"

Grillby crinkles his fiery brows, "This is the room I want." He points out. Melissa shifts on the balls of her feet.

"If you say so." She responds, "But it still shouldn't be in the middle of the room. Should we move it to the side?"

"How about over here?" Grillby asks, standing by one side of her bed. Melissa shifts again, feeling perplexed.

"If thats where you want it." She then proceeds to try and carefully shove the house over- without causing it to break apart. She manages to do so. Grillby is silent as he watches her.

"Do you not want it there?" Grillby quietly asks of her, after she had carefully pushed it and repositioned the front to face the middle of the room rather than the wall.

Melissa blanches, "N-no! Thats not it!" She shrugs her shoulders, "It’s really only if _you_ want it there.” She supplies, rather softly.

“If I had not wanted it there, I would have said so.” Grillby points out. It causes Melissa to think for a moment, humming an ‘I suppose that’s true.’

The two stand in an awkward sort of silence before Melissa asks what Grillby wanted to do. He claims to want to do what she wanted to do. Melissa fidgets some more before offering to read a book. Grillby seems content with that.

They continue like that for the rest of the day, stopping only for Melissa to retrieve snacks from the pantry in the kitchen. She also leaves, Grillby with her, to feed her pets. Doris is exceedingly agitated when she sees Grillby perched on Melissa’s shoulders, to which Melissa still does not understand why.

“You have skipped some of the pets in feeding.” Grillby remarks as they exit the room.

Melissa blinks, “Oh! Yes, I did. It’s natural. Not all pets need to be fed every day.”

Grillby makes no comment as they return to Melissa’s room to enjoy the third book of the day.

Despite having read alone her entire life, Melissa knew that now Grillby joined with her, she would never be able to go back to being alone with her books. Her reading was never going to be the same. And she liked it.

 

~!~!~!~!~!~

 

Weeks pass, and the two find a sort of harmony and rhythm together. Of course, the first few days were rough and awkward- especially when Melissa had to leave for school and Grillby was not permitted to join her. Then of course came the homework Melissa had to do, which Grillby had one bad incident of burning… But it was okay. Melissa had giggled slightly and said that ‘my homework got burnt’ would be an interesting excuse to use on her teacher- only the fact being Melissa just simply redid her homework anyways.

Reading became an incredible comfort to the both of them. Melissa enjoyed it for the fantastical elements- the escape from reality- whereas Grillby enjoyed it because it was happy, pleasant times with Melissa, his companion. Living in Melissa’s house was not always pleasant or comforting, and one of the many reasons was because of her parents.

Whether they were in the house or not, the mere thought of them was always a heavy weight on his companions mind. When they weren’t in the house, Melissa was- despite all social awkwardness aside- lonely. Yet when they _were_ there, it was shouting, yelling, arguing. It was enough to make Grillby question why they had even _gotten_ married, why they were even _together_.

The only good thing that seemed to spring from the torrid relationship the two were in was Melissa; and even then, their shouts and screams were tainting her.

Grillby didn’t like it at all. Melissa deserved to be _happy_. Not solemn. Not quiet. Not subdued and silent.

She was generous, incredibly smart and very kind and caring. She was also incredibly sensitive; He knew every word her parents threw at each other dug a large hole in Melissa’s heart. Not to mention, all the ridiculous things her mother would scold her about; or how her father hardly _ever_ seemed to pay attention to her, when he had the decency to _be home_ \- Why it just- It just made Grillby-

“Ah! Grillby! Be careful!” Grillby blinks back into reality, and immediately jumps away as he notes the smidgeon of smoke rising around him; the torrid stench of something burning. Grillby tries to reign in his emotions as Melissa hurriedly sets him aside before tossing her glass of water on the smoldering spot. She crinkles her nose at the scorch mark on her large wooden desk, before turning her worried eyes to Grillby.

“Are you alright?” She asks him softly. Melissa knew what went on when Grillby accidentally burned things. He was usually in a bad mood, or shocked or scared. He must have been thinking bad things to scorch her desk like this.

Grillby nods his head in a manner that Melissa takes as an ‘okay’. He doesn’t elaborate when Melissa tries to slightly pry for _why_ he was thinking foul thoughts, and Melissa lets that slide. She knew Grillby would talk to her when he felt the need to. She didn’t want to force him.

With quiet, small motions, Melissa puts away her homework and announces that she was done for the day. Without further ado, Melissa picks Grillby up and settles him on the small spot for their nightly reading session. She selectively picks out a book, before settling herself in with Grillby, allowing him to rest against the curve of her shoulder.

“I think we’ll read this book tonight.” Melissa says, and notes with satisfaction the happy crackle Grillby seems to give her at the sight of the book she had chosen.

With a soft sigh, a comforting tilt of her head to press her cheeks just lightly against Grillby’s head, Melissa starts reading the very book that had brought the two of them together.


	4. An Adoption Process

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may be a bit disappointing for some, because it doesn't directly have bitty-human interactions. It's more of... an intense scope into (one) of the many ways I think of how to adopt bitties.
> 
> Now, as many may have noticed- I have been giving various different adoption processes in my stories. Most of them are rather... less involved in this one, and I just wanted to write a process that was incredibly involved, because I think that perhaps an 'adoption' of a pet should be well... and adoption you know? Something that takes effort and time, and this is what I created because of that.
> 
> If anyone wants more interactions of this family, I'll be sure to supply that- I just thought it be best to get this up there and see how people take it.
> 
> But again, keep in mind that the types of adoption processes are going to be well varied. Some may be intense like this, others may be just buy-and-go; if my next chapters have anything to do with adopting them at all. I have some in mind, but not all of them involve adopting the bitty and merely focus on the interactions of the families and such.

"Dad, could we get a bitty?" A rather preteen aged boy asks, as he sits with his younger sibling, playing a board game.

The father crinkles his brows, as he flickers his gaze from the tv to his young children, "Ask your mother." He responds absently. As quick as a blink, his son jumps up and begins shouting "MOM!"

"Daddy, whats a bitty?" The father blinks down at his younger daughter, who was innocently looking up at him.

The father, truth be told, didn't entirely know, "I think its a new breed of dog, pumpkin." A few weeks ago the Wilson's had gotten another pet, and he was sure he heard the mumble of "bitty" when someone asked what they had adopted.

"Like Gilly?" She quips, her eyes glancing towards the patio, where the families golden retriever was sleeping in the sun.

"Possibly pumpkin. I'm sure your mother knows." The young daughter slowly gets up, before trotting off to find her mother.

"Mommy!"

The father sighs, turning the tv off as he hears the encroaching reply of his wife. She soon rounds the corner of the dinning room, her son prattling to her as she raises a brow at her husband.

"So mommy, do you think we could have a bitty?" The young boy trails off, and the mother sighs. Loudly.

"Look sweetie, I'm not entirely sure about bitties. Or adopting them. We'll have to see okay?"

"Mooommmmyyy whats a bitty?"

"I can show you a picture of Jackson's bitty!" The young boy trills, taking his sisters hand and running off to his room.

The father watches carefully as his wife slowly sits beside him, "So..." She says

"So?" The husband replies.

"A bitty?"

The husband shrugs, "Isn't it some kind of dog? We have the room for another dog."

The wife rolls her eyes, "Dear, a bitty is a _bit_ different from a dog."

"A cat then?"

The wife huffs, before groaning, " ** _No._** "

"Then what are they?"

"Uh... its rather hard to explain. Here, let me show you some pictures." The wife pulls out her phone, tapping quickly on the screen and showing the husband... rather odd pictures of... skeletons? Flames? The husband blinks.

"Oh." He responds, subdued.

"Yes. _Oh._ "

"That is a _definantly_ not any breeds of dog I've ever seen."

"Oh. My. God."

!-!-!-!-!-!

Its been a few weeks since the intial asking, and the two parents have been discussing on-and-off the possibility of adopting one. They had talked to the Wilson's about how bitties acted, how different they were from regular pets, and how to go about getting one.

The Wilson's informed them that the adoption process was incredibly intensive. Weeks, if not months, of constant interviews, meetings and other things. Someone would go to your house, observe your surroundings, how your financial situation looked. It was basically like adopting a very small child.

Wow.

But the Wilsons were adamant to the fact that it was the best thing they had ever done. They loved their little bitty, and were gushing that if they felt their family was ready- they should adopt one too.

The mother and father looked at each other. **_Was_ ** their family ready for that?

!-!-!-!-!

"Maybe we should go to the adoption center and just... get a feel for them?" The wife says, settling into bed with her husband one night. The husband grunts in response.

After all, they were both curious. The Wilsons had sparked the same type of interest and excitement their son and daughter were having.

"I'll talk to the children in the morning. Maybe on the weekend we'll take a quick peek. No rush." The wife mumbles.

Of course, come the morning, the children agreed immediately. Their son was more than excited to go and see some- possibly start adopting one. The daughter was just generally excited, crying out "Bitty! Bitty! Bitty!"

"It's on the weekend though. And we're _just_ looking. If either me or daddy feels it's too much, we won't be adopting one. Remember, we _do_ have Gilly already."

"Yes, mom."

The week passes, and soon enough its bitty-observing day. The dad, however, had things he needed to complete and opted out. So it was just the wife and children that made their way to the adoption center.

The adoption center is pretty small, but quaint looking. Blue and white, the door jingles as the mother pushes it open, letting her children crowd in first before heading in herself.

"Hello and welcome!" A pleasant looking person calls out from behind the counter, a customer-service smile gracing his features. His eyes follow the children, as the son simply stands in front of the counter, reading the posters and the daughter dances her way around the store. She gently touches the tiny cloths, giggling and exclaiming how cute it was that the cloths were doll-sized.

"Are you looking to adopt a bitty?" The man inquires, and the son eagerly nods his head.

"Yessir."

The mothers brow crinkles, "Actually," She cut in, grabbing h daughters hand and bringing her to the counter. The mothers eyes flicker over the large information posters of the different bitties the store offers, "We just wanted to look at them. Make sure a bitty is a right fit."

The man nods, "Of course. Bitty adoption isn't for everyone." He says primly, "So is it just a simple meeting? Any specific bitties you wished to meet?" He steps out from behind the counter, hovering in front of a large door that separated the front of the store with the back.

"Can we see all of them?" The son asks, but looks up at the mother for confirmation.

The mother nods, "Yes, we'd like to see all of them. _Just_ seeing though." Her firm eyes glance down at her sons. The daughter jitters and taps her foot.

"Mommy, I wanna see them too!"

Her eyes look at the store clerk, "If he allows you in sweetie, you can see them too."

The man gives a bright smile, "All of you can go in at the same time. _But_ just give me a few minutes to set up the meeting area and prepare the bitties." He waits for everyone to give some type of confirmation before he enters the back room. Muffled noises can be heard from behind it.

The mother looks down at her sons face, and then her daughters. She can see the excitement reflecting in their eyes.

"This is just a simple meeting. We aren't for sure on adopting them." She warns, once again.

"I know, Mom." The son responds dutifully.

Its around 15 minutes later, and the clerk opens the door and gestures all of them inside. The mother allows her children in first, before walking in after them.

The back room is full of pens of all shapes and sizes. A large, open pen is in the middle with pillows, blankets, mats and the like in it. A bunch of bitties mill about in the middle of it, but some jump and rush over to the clear glass walls to press up and murmur at the possibly adoptee family.

"They are like little dolls!" The daughter exclaims happily, and the son just smiles brightly.

The mother can't help but think how cute some of them are, as well, and follows her children in to the pen. She sits down on one of the mats, and watches as her children start interacting with some of the bitties.

A few even come over to her, looking up curiously. She smiles down at them, gently rubbing their heads softly. Some squeal happily. A few fall asleep on her form.

"Mommy, mommy look!" The daughter squeals. She was covered with a bunch of bitties, who were crawling and hanging off her arms and shoulders. The son is talking to some of the more demur and laid back bitties.

"Don't let any of the bitties fall!" The clerk calls out anxiously, and the mother picks up on his worry.

"You probably shouldn't let them climb on you sweetie. What if they fall?"

"THE MAGNIFICIENT BLUEBERRY COULD NOT POSSIBLY FALL!" Some of the same bitties repeat that sentiment

"THE GREAT PAPY REPEATS THAT STATEMENT! THE GREAT PAPY IS INCREDIBLY AGILE AND STRONG!" Again, cries of the like chorus together

The daughter only giggles more. Mother chuckles, her eyes swinging to her son. He was picking up some of the bitties he had been talking to, smiling widely at them.

The mother looks down at the few of the bitties that had snuggled against her pant legs. They were snoring softly, looking especially adorable.

Maybe having a bitty wouldn't be too bad.

The clerk clears his throat, and the mother glances at the clock on the wall. She startles, the bitties surrounding her shuffling and grumbling awake, "Oh! How did the time pass this quickly? Come on kids, we should be going now. I still have other things to do."

Very grudgingly the children distangle themselves from the bitties they had been attatched to, and follow their mother out the door. The store clerk closes it behind them, smiling growing.

"So, how do you feel about bitties now?" He asks.

"They are so cute!" The daughter preens and the son nods his head.

"They're really cool."

The three of them turn to look at the mother, expectant. She clears her throat, "Well they all seem rather friendly," She announces, "And... I'm sure that we wouldn't mind adopting one, perhaps."

"Yes!"

The clerk just continues smiling at you, stepping behind the counter again, "Well, if you wish, we can start the adoption process. We would just need the bitty you want to adopt!"

The mother blinks, "Oh, well I am afraid I need to discuss this further with my husband. And we'll all have to come back and choose which one to adopt."

The clerk closes the large book he had opened with a snap, "Oh yes. Of course. Please, come back when you have all decided." They all bide the clerk a good day and leave, not before the mother picks up pamphlets and information brochures to bring home and study.

"I know which one I want." The son interjects pointedly. The daughter utters the same thing.

"Thats wonderful, kids, but this is a family decision. What if daddy doesn't like them?"

The children grumble, but relent and clamber into the van. The mother continues on the rest of her errands, before returning home. The two children rush off together, whispering.

Its later and the husband comes home from his own errands, his eyes alighting as he finds his wife at the dinning table, pouring over the pamphlets she had taken.

"So I guess the meeting went well?" He remarks dryly, motioning to the pamphlets. He sits down, and takes one of them, glancing down at it, "Hmm. Would Gilly be good around something so small?"

The mother freezes, before holding her head in her hands, "Oh no! I didn't even think about that!" She exclaims, and the husband chuckles, flicking the pamphlet over.

"Well Gilly is fine with the children, and she's very tame. She wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Yes, but we can't be sure!" The mother announces, before sighing, "At first, at the store, I was... I was entertaining the idea- but reading all of this, is it too much? We already have Gilly- and could the kids handle the tiny thing well?"

"As I said, we have more than enough room for another pet. Especially one so small. And the kids will be fine, they aren't rowdy. They treat Gilly well." The wife hums at that.

"I know, but..." She gestures vagely to the pamphlets and the husband grunts.

"Well, if you really don't feel like a bitty is for us, we won't get one."

The wife closes her eyes, "It's not that I _don't_ think a bitty could fit in this family..."

"Then whats the problem? We'll all go back, pick one and start the adoption process. If we really aren't a good family for them, they'll pick up on that. Isn't that what the Wilsons said the tens of billions of interviews are for?"

"Thats true..."

"And if we talk about it with the children, you'll know what they'll say."

"Yeah..." The wife opens her eyes, peaking up at her husband, "Do _you_ want one?"

At that the husband shrugs, "Seems interesting enough to me." He announces. The wife raises an eyebrow, "Look. I'm all for getting one if you three all want one. They don't seem like a horrible idea to me, and the Wilson's were particularily adamant that they were wonderful... ah, pets? Beings? To have around the house."

Another noncommittal hum comes from his wife, "Well we would need to go back and see which bitty would fit well with our family. Both kids have already made a choice, but I told them its a family decision."

"Then we'll go back. We'll decide as a family."

!-!-!-!-!

It’s a few days after that talk, and subsequent talks with the children involved, that the family returns to the adoption center after everyone comes back from work and/or school.

Surprisingly, it’s the same male clerk that greets them all with a smile. His eyes alight in recognition after a few seconds, “Oh hey, it’s you guys!” He announces, “So, I guess it’s a yes for an adoption? Do you know what Bitty you’d like?”

The mother coughs slightly, “Ah yes, I believe so. But do you think we can visit them all again? Truly make sure?”

“Why of course!” However, his eyes glance at the door with a small apologetic smile, “However, there is already a person in there, making their own decision. They’ll be out in a few minutes, however.”

“We can wait.”

All four of them crowd around the counter, milling about and glancing at the different posters of the different bitties. Of course, most of the discussion that had commenced a few days ago had been offering which bitty to get, so the family had a good idea- the mother wanted to make sure it was the right choice.

After all the mental energy the family had spent, the mother didn’t want to waste it accidentally picking the wrong bitty to adopt. She was sure that wouldn’t be the case… but one could never be too sure.

The minutes tick by agonizingly, if the grimaces on the children’s faces are any indication. They watch with bated breaths as young adult man comes out of the bitty room, talking to another store clerk.

The male clerk motions to the family, walking around the female clerk that goes behind the desk and brings out a large folder of papers. The young adult glances at the family, before continuing his discussion with the lady.

“Alright folks, the bitty room is clear now! Hopefully it will help to make a decision!” The children eagerly make their way into the room, already rushing into the bitty meeting pen while the two parents walk in more languidly.

“Whoa.” The husband announces, his eyes drifting over the large amounts of pens and such in the back room. He cracks a grin at his wife, “Yup. _Definitely_ not any types of dogs I’ve ever known.”

The wife rolls her eyes, “Oh, shut up.” She settles back into the same spot she had last time, her husband joining her. He leans over, shaking a small finger with some bitties who were introducing themselves. After that was done, he leans against the glass and looks pretty impressed.

“These things- ah _bitties_ \- are actually pretty intelligent.” He whispers to his wife, who merely nods her head.

“They are. Probably why adopting them is… so intense. And we haven’t even _started_ it yet.”

The husband lets out a low whistle, grinning slightly as some of the bitties look at him oddly for it, “Well I guess better late than never.”

Within a few minutes, the children had hustled over, a few bitties in their wake. Yet, whom they held in their hands was the two bitties that they had both adamantly exclaimed was _the one_. Try as the parents had, the two children each wanted different bitties.

The daughter proudly presents her bitty to her parents, a small little fur covered cat-like bitty. It squeaks, purrs and blinks up at the two of them before tittering out a hello.

“His name is Tea!” The daughter announces with a squeal, “And he is _so so cute!_ ” The little bitty flushes at that, but looks pleased, his cat-like tail flickering happily.

The son rolls his eyes at that, and holds out his own hands, which show a smaller skeleton, in a blue hoodie. He raises a hand in a lazy wave, “sup?”

“This is Sansy,” The son explains, “He’s really smart, and really easy to talk to!” The bitty cracks a nervous smile, a blush framing his features as well.

“Well, hello!” The mother coos slightly, leaning forward to get a good look at the two of them. The Teacup bitty preens and flicks his tail and swivels his ear. The Sansy merely shifts from foot to foot on his position in the young boy’s hands, stuffing his hands deep in his jacket pocket. However, the mother can see the looks clearly reflecting in the lights of their eyes.

They both want to be adopted.

The wife looks at her husband, who clears his throat slightly. The children and the bitties all look towards him.

“You know we said _one_ bitty, right?”

The two children look stricken, before the daughter offers the Teacup bitty again, “But look, Daddy, he’s _so so so cute_! We should keep him!”

“Pumpkin-”

The son looks down sadly at his bitty, “Right. Yeah, only one...” The bitty looks back up at him, and shrugs his shoulders in a helpless action. The mother watches silently, as her son steps a ways off to put the bitty back on the ground. His shoulders are set stiffly, in the way she knew her son did when he was upset.

“Dear…” She whispers to her husband, who was absently listening to his daughter prattling on about how great the bitty in her hands was, “I know we _were_ saying we should get just one…”

The father’s eyes glance up to his son, who gives a shrug, before smirking, “I knew you’d change your mind.”

The wife gives a small scowl, “Oh be quiet. We _talked_ about possibly getting both too, you know… I just… didn’t realize how quickly the children became attached to them.” Her eyes once again drift to her son, who was kneeling in front of the Sansy, quietly talking with him. She watches as her son gets up, his face drawn and sullen. He was blinking rapidly as he proceeds his way towards the rest.

He gives a crooked smile to the Teacup that looks at him, before turning his gaze to his parents. He sits down beside his mother, still looking withdrawn. The mother wraps her arms around her child, awkwardly placing her head on top of his.

She clears her throat slightly, addressing her son, “Well, sweetie, your father and I _had_ been discussing a few days ago about the possibility of adopting **two** bitties…” Her son freezes.

“Yeah…?”

“And it would be truly unfair if we adopted the bitty your sister wanted, instead of one that we all wanted.”

“And…?”

“But since your father and I really have no opinion on which bitty to get, we are relying on your opinions…”

“Well, I already told you which bitty I like.” He responds, his tone a little sulky and sour.

“I know, sweetie, I know… And both your sister and your bitty seem very nice, and you two already are quite attached to them… I mean you meet them a week and a half ago, and you two wouldn’t stop talking about which bitty you liked.” The mother chuckles at that, carefully brushing the fine hairs at the side of her sons head, tucking them behind his ear. Her son shivers at the contact, but hums in agreement.

“It… I don’t know, mom. When we came before, I had talked to all sorts of different bitties… but Sansy… I just… _clicked_ with him. He’s really funny, and super smart too. It’s like as if… I just _knew_ he was the bitty for me.” He shrugs helplessly in his mother’s embrace.

The mother hums, and her eyes travel to her husband, who had been quietly listening while watching his daughter play with the Teacup bitty she adored. Her gaze then travels to the male clerk, who was passively watching all of them.

“Give me a second sweetie.”

The male clerk’s smile widens as he watches the mother makes his way to him. He too, had been passively listening to the snippets of conversation he could catch and was rather certain why the mother was coming towards him, looking slightly apprehensive but determined, “Is something up?” He asks of her.

The mother blinks at the question, before nodding her head, “Yes, actually… I was wondering… Is there a limit on adoptions? Can a person only adopt one bitty?”

“Oh no! You can adopt- well, nearly as many as you want. I believe our owner, Momma Cry, has set a limit of eight however…” The male clerk crinkles his brows at that, thinking about it.

The mother’s eyes glance back at her family, “Well, I am hoping that we can begin the adoption for two bitties.”

The male clerk claps his hands, excited, “Why of course! If you give me a moment, you and your family can certainly start the adoption process today!”

The mother calls for her family, whom get up and file their way out the door. The son was looking at his mother searchingly, while the daughter was still giggling and talking about her little bitty that she adored.

The clerk brings them all to the counter, flipping the large book there open.

“Can I have all of your names? Last name and first name?” He questions, to which the mother proceeds to tell him, “Now, which bitties are you looking to adopt?” The mother glances down at her children, before clearing her throat and responding.

“I believe it was a Teacup and a Sansy.”

The male clerk smiles wildly, “Ah, wonderful! They are both sweethearts.” He announces, scribbling down in the large book. He then reaches below the counter, and brings out a large file folder, and hands it over, “This here is the adoption policy and all the different forms the Center requires you to read and sign. There isn’t much more you _need_ to do now, besides eventually talking to Momma Cry so she can schedule a meeting with you to discuss the finer points of the adoption. But the center’s phone number”

“Ah, alright.” The mother announces, taking the file and opening it casually.

“Feel free to come by any time to see the bitties you wish to adopt.” He smiles, before suddenly exclaiming, “Oh wait!” The family blinks at him, and he smiles down at the young children, “I need you all to show me which two bitties that are being adopted.”

“I can show you!” The daughter says happily, rushing to the door. The son follows along as well, looking much happier than earlier. The male clerk slips out from behind the counter once again, and tells the parents it would only take a moment and they didn’t have to come back into the bitty room.

“All I need is pictures.” He says, waving his phone.

“So, we’re really adopting two of them?” The father asks, leaning against the counter. His wife crinkles her nose.

“Yes… I know I’m being indulgent, but it’s just… I didn’t want…”

“I know.” He gives a small chuckle, “Well, if we thought when Gilly was a pup the house was noisy, I can’t wait to see what two bitties will do to it.”

!-!-!-!-!-!

The following month and a half was full of meetings and interviews, all performed by the Center’s owner, 'Momma' Cry herself. She would talk to the family as a whole, she would talk to just the parents, she would talk to just the children- she even talked to each and every family member individually.

When the interviews were performed at the center, sometimes Miss Cry would bring in the bitties to be interviewed with them. Other times she didn’t. When she had the bitties with her, she’d ask them questions along with the family members. Can you take care of two bitties? Would you treat the bitties well? Did you _like_ the two bitties you wished to adopt? Did the bitties like _you_? What was your financial situation like? Did the children go to school? Who would be the primary caretakers? Was there any offences the parents had? Were the children violent? How did the bitties feel about being adopted by this family?

Sometimes the interviews were performed at the families house, and the questions turned to discussions about the other pet the family owned- Gilly. Was she aggressive? Was she trained well? Would she attack the bitties? What if the bitties felt threatened by her and attacked? Was she an outside dog? An inside dog?

Questions upon questions upon questions was the entirety of each and every interview Miss Cry conducted. Sometimes, she asked the same questions- phrased differently. She went through “hypothetical situations” and asked how the family would handle it. She was relentless and thorough in her probing of the families thoughts, opinions and attitude toward the adoption.

However, today was the _last_ day of interviews- and this time, it wasn’t an interview. It was an appraisal of all the different notes and thoughts Momma Cry had over the course of the month and a half she had interviewed them, and went to their house to assess them.

The whole family was nervous, anxious and apprehensive as they sat in the large plushy couches in front of the large oak desk that Miss Cry was sitting at, stacks of papers at her disposal. She glanced down at them, her ears twitching as she assessed all she had written.

Her smile broadens at all of them, “So, after all that in the past month, we have come down to this.”

“That we have.” The husband responds, lounging in the couch, his daughter perched on his lap. Miss Cry glances at him, her ears twitching.

“And _this_ is my assessment of the family. If… If I believe you shall indeed be able to walk out today with two bitties on your shoulders.”

The daughter fidgets in her fathers lap, as does the son in his own seat, but neither say anything.

Miss Cry clears her throat, pulling out a piece of paper and studying it, “After a month of interviews and looking at all of the compiled notes I have made of the family in question- I have concluded that this family, indeed, shall be a kind, nurturing family that any bitty would feel happy to be adopted into. This family already has an environment of love and joy that I want each and every bitty in my care to enjoy and experience.”

The son looks up tentatively, “So does that mean…?”

“Yes! I have accepted the adoption, and you now can take the bitties back home with you!”

After that it was a flurry of activity. The children were ecstatic, as the mother thanked Miss Cry profusely and the father elected to shake hands with her. The family had already long ago purchased the necessary bitty items, and on one interview at their house had gotten advice from Miss Cry for the placement of such items and other things that they would need, that they hadn’t thought of.

All they had left to do was bring their bitties home.

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully you like my bitty story(ies) :D Sorry if they suck! 
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment, or any requests you can think up!
> 
> Or if you want a short continued, or something, I can do that too!


End file.
